Collapsible box.



PATENTED Nov. 20,-1906. 0,11. STONEBRIDGE. GOLLAPSIBLE BOX.

APPLICATION IILED APR- 24. 1905- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED NOV. '20, 1906.

c. H. STONBBRIDGE.

COLLAPSIBLB BOX.

APPLICATION FILED APB-24.1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2v CHARLES H. STONEBRIDGE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COLLAPSIBLE BOX. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 20, 1906.

Application filed April 24,1905. Serial No- 257,092.

To (all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. STONE- BRIDGE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in the borough of the Bronx, in the city, county, andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCollapsible Boxes, of which the fol lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to collapsible boxes, and more particularly tocollapsible lanterns having portable or collapsible box like bodies andit has for its object to provide an improved device or article of thischaracter which will be relatively simple and inexpensive inconstruction, will be capable of being collapsed or folded into andsecured in very compact and portable form and readily and convenientlyextendedinto and secured in operative condition, and will be generallysuperior in point of efficiency and serviceability.

In its specific objects the invention has relation to prior LettersPatent of the United States issued to me November 27, 1900, September29, 1903, May 24, 1904, and March 28, 1905, and numbered, respectively,662,474, 740,377, 760,660, and 785,772.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a collapsible lanternembodying the present improvements, and in extended or operativecondition. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view showing several of themem bers in disconnected position and displaying several of the featuresof improvement; Fig. 3, a detail sectional view taken throughcandle-holding means, constituting another feature of improvements. Fig.4 is a detail transverse sectional view taken upon the line 4 4, Fig. 1.Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lantern in collapsed or folded andlocked condition, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken longitudinally ofthe lantern in the condition illustrated in Fig. 5.

Corresponding parts in all the figures are denoted by the same referencecharacter.

Referring to the drawings, the improved lantern comprises a body portionconsisting of a plurality of pivotally-connected body members a, b, c,and d, respectively, a top member 2, pivotally connected at one sidewith the body member 0, and a bottom member 3, pivotally connected atone side with the body member 0. The top member 2 is provided with afoldable guard 4, consisting of two members 4 and 4', for an air-opening5 in the top member, and the bottom member 3 is provided withcandleholding means 6. In the provision of all these features andmembers the device agrees in general with those described andillustrated in the several prior Letters Patent hereinbefore referredto. Similar to the disclosure in Letters Patent 740,377, issued to meSeptember 29, 1903, the device is furthermore provided with unitarysecuring means 7 for detachably uniting the guard 4, the top member 2,and the body member a, and partly comprised within said securing means 7are locking means 8 for locking the parts and members together incollapsed or folded condition. The locking means 8 include a bail member9, connected with the guard 4 and whereby the lantern may be carried orsuspended in use.

The body member 0 is provided with side flanges 10 and a top flange 11,the body members I) and at being pivotally connected with the sideflanges 10 and the top member 2 and guard 4 being pivotally connectedwith the top flange 11, although the guard 4 is directly pivotallyconnected with the top member 2. The body members I) and d are bothpivotally connected with the body member a at either side of the same.

As fully disclosed in the several prior Letters Patent above referredto, the body members a, b, c, and d are so proportioned as'to be capableof folding in flat serially-superposed arrangement, and in such foldingthe bottom member 3 is first swung upwardly flat against the body member0. The body member I) is then swung inwardly upon the bottom member 3,the body member a is swung over upon the body member I), and the bodymember d is swung over upon the body member a. With the parts in thisposition the bottom member 3 and the body members a, b, and d all lieamong the flanges 10 and 11 upon the body member 0. The top member 2 isthen folded down upon the body member 61 and the guard 4 is folded downupon top member 2 and the body member d. The locking means 8 are thenemployed to positively lock the guard 4 to the top member 2 and theguard 4 to the body member 0, whereby the parts and members are firmlymaintained in collapsed or folded condition.

The securing means 7 comprise a tensional locking device 12, carried atthe outer edge portion of the guard 4 and arranged for passage throughan elongated opening 13, formed in the outer edge portion of the topmember 2, and through a keeper 14, connected with the top portion of thebody member a. The keeper 14 is pivotally arranged so that it may befolded flat against the body member a.

The locking means 8 comprise two tensional locking devices and 16,respectively carried at the sides and outer edge portions of the guard 4and arranged for engagement with the body member a, which latter isprovided with two receiving-keepers 17 and 18, respectively, at itslower corner portions. The locking means 8 also comprise a bail member9, which, as above recited, is connected with the guard 4 and isprovided heneath the same with two locking devices 19 and 20,respectively, arranged for engagement respectively with keepers 21 and22, the latter of which is not shown, but is similar to the former, withwhich the top member 2 is provided. The bail member 9 coacts with thelocking devices 15 and 16 to main tain the latter in locking engagementwith the keepers 17 and 18.

The candle-holding means 6 comprise two tensionally mounted and spacedfoldable members 23 and 24, respectively.

A preferred specific form of construction of the members embodying thefeatures of improvement above recited is as follows: The tensionallocking device 12 consists of a springloop 25, formed centrally of alength 26 of spring-wire which is pivotally and slidably connected withand extends across the outer edge portion of the guard 4 and is formedat its outer ends into hooks 27 and 28, respectively, formed at rightangles to the spring-loop and constituting the tensional locking devices15 and 16. The spring-loop 25 is provided with lateral shoulders 29 and30, respectively, which bind tensionally against the keeper 14 afterinsertion of said springloop through the opening 13 in the top member 2and the keeper 14. The bail member 9 is formed of a single length 31 ofstiff wire, which is formed centrally into a handle member 32 above theguard 4, and the end portions 33 and 34, respectively, of whichconstitute pintles for pivotally connecting together the two members 4and 4 of the guard 4. The extreme end portions of the length of wire 31are formed into hooks 35 and 36, respectively, which are arranged forengagement with the keepers 21 and 22 and constitute the locking devices19 and 20. The keepers 21 and 22 consist of two spaced flanges 37 and38, respectively, the latter of which is not shown, but is similar tothe former, formed at the edge of the air-opening 5 in the top member 2.

The hooks 27 and 28 are provided each with a notch or groove 39, inwhich notches the handle member 32 of the bail member 9 is seated whenthe hooks 27 and 28 have been forced into engagement with the keepers 17and 18, respectively, which latter keepers I means 6.

may consist of exposed wire loops 40 and 41, respectively, comprisedwithin the construction of the body member a.

The members 23 and 24 of the candleholding means 6 consist each of aU-shaped body or length 42 of stiff wire of half-round form, the centralportion 43 of which extends beneath a springtongue 44, connected withthe bottom member 3. The central portions 43 are spaced from each otherand arranged in parallelism, whereby the end portions 45 of the U-shapedbodies 42, which constitute candle-holding fingers, may be folded downflat upon the bottom member 3 or may be elevated into uprightcandlereceiving position. By means of the halfround formation of thebodies 42 the fingers 45 are effectively maintained in either depressedor raised positions by the springtongues 44, which latter may constitutethe looped end portions of a single spring-plate 46.

The members 4 and 4 of the guard 4, which in operative position archabove the top member 2, are both provided with side flanges 47, whichextend at the sides of and inclose the several parts and members of thedevice when the latter is in collapsed condition.

The body member a is provided with a suitable locking device 48 formaintaining the bottom member 3 in operative position.

The method of use and advantages of the features of improvement hereindescribed will be readily understood from the foregoing description,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the followingstatement: To set the lantern up in operative position of parts andmembers, the four body members a, b, c, and d are extended into thepositions shown in Fig. 1, the bottom member 3 is dropped down intoplace and se cured by the locking device 48, and the top member 2 isfolded down upon the body mem-, bers. The guard4is then arched over thetop member and the air-opening 5 therein and the springloop 25 forcedthrough the opening 13 in the top member and into engagement with thekeeper 14 by means of its holding-shoulders 29 and 30. This operationmay be conveniently accomplished by compressing the springloop 25 by theapplication of pressure to the hooks 27 and 28 at the ends of the lengthof wire 26. The guard 4, top member 2, and the four body members are nowall firmly and rigidly connected together and may be convenientlycarried or suspended by the handle member 32 of the bail member 9.Previous to connection of the guard with the top member and body membersa candle may be inserted through the air-opening 5 and may be firmlyseated among the raised fingers 45 of the candle-holding To collapse orfold the lantern, a reversal of the operation last described takes placeand the body members a, b, and (Z are all folded flat, in the orderheretofore described, upon the bottom member 3 and among the sideflanges 10 and top flange 11 of the body member 0. The top member 2 isthen folded down upon the body member (I, and the hooks 35 and 36 of thebail memher 9 are engaged with the keepers 21 and 22 of the top member 2by pivotally swinging the handle member of the bail member downwardly,thus locking the guard 4 and top member closely together, the guardlying flat above the top member 2 and with its side flanges 47 inclosingthe several parts and members of the lantern at the sides. The handlemember of the bail member is then forced at its sides into the notches39 in the hooks 27 and 28, which are thus maintained firmly inengagement with the keepers 17 and 18 upon the body member 0. The topmember and guard are thus now firmly connected with the body member 0,all the other parts and members being thus firmly maintained inintermediate positions and in flat collapsed condition. By unseating thehandle member 32 from the notches 39 in the hooks 27 and 2S and swingingthe handle member up from the guard all the parts and members are freedfor extension into operative positions. The spring-loop 25 beingpivotally mounted is readily flattened beneath the guard 4 in collapsingthe lantern, which swings the hooks 27 and 28 into operative position.The keeper 14 is similarly swung flat against the body member a infolding the lantern.

The entire device is relatively simple in construction and is readilycollapsed into compact and positively-maintained flat form and is asreadily extended into operative condition, which is as positively andfirmly maintained.

I do not desire to be understood as limiting myself to the specificconstruction, arrangement, and association of the parts and membersdescribed nor as in any sense limiting the adaptability of the featuresof improvement to collapsible lanterns, but reserve all rights ofvariation in adapting the improvements to varying conditions of usewithout departing from the spirit of the invention or the terms of thefollowing claims.

Having thus described my invention, I l

claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a device of thecharacter described, a top member, a two-membered guard pivotallyconnected with said top member, and a bail member pivotally connectedwith said. guard and having its end portions formed into pintlespivotally connecting said members of said guard and into locking meansfor uniting said guard with said top member in collapsed condition.

2. An improved device of the character described, comprising a pluralityof collapsible body members, a top member and a guard pivotallyconnected with said body members, securing means for uniting said topmember and said guard with said body members in extended or operativecondition, and locking means for maintaining said body members and saidtop member and said guard in folded or collapsed condition; said.securing means and said locking means embodying each a tensional lockingdevice which locking devices are connected together and ointlyoperative.

3. An improved device of the character described, comprising a pluralityof collapsible body members, a top member and a guard pivotallyconnected with said body members, securing means for uniting said topmember and said guard with said body members in extended or operativecondition, and locking means for maintaining said body members and saidtop member and said guard in folded or collapsed condition, saidsecuring means comprising a spring-loop carried by said guard and akeeper carried by said body members with which said springloop isengaged through an opening insaid top member, and said locking meanscomprising two hooks mounted upon said springloop and arranged forengagement with parts or one of said body members.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

O. C. PHELPs, H. E. WARNER.

